Suspect arrested in North Carolina home invasion deaths

Suspect arrested in North Carolina home invasion deaths

Oct. 26, 2017

ENFIELD, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff says a man has been arrested in connection with a home invasion in which four people were shot and killed.

Halifax County Sheriff Wes Tripp told local media outlets that 25-year-old Matthew Simms of Enfield was arrested Thursday and charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

Earlier in October, Tripp said the killings may have been gang-related and that the home may have been targeted.

Investigators have said the two married couples had been sitting around a kitchen table playing cards when they were killed sometime between Aug. 20 and 21. They were identified as 72-year-old Janice Harris, 88-year-old James Harris, 76-year-old James Whitley, and 67-year-old Peggy Whitley.

Simms is jailed without bond and scheduled to appear in court on Friday.